No Time for Horses (12 page)

“Hi,” I said, feeding a carrot to the
Arabian. “I so owe you big-time.”

“Believe me, it’s not a hardship.” Sierra
tightened the cinch. “After our group meeting yesterday, I thought
I might have been out of line suggesting you have some compassion
for your mother. Mine can be a major pain in the butt, but she has
never dumped Autumn on me 24/7.”

“What about the horses?” I asked. “They need
constant care.”

“Of course they do. If one is sick, Mom’s
right down here helping me nurse it back to health. Either that or
I’m helping her. And when it gets to the middle of the night,
she’ll send me up to bed while she walks a colicky mare. If I argue
with her, she threatens to ground me because she’s the mother and
I’m the kid. Your mom is lucky that you jump in as much as you do
with your brothers and sisters.”

“Not today,” I said. “I dropped them on Gwen,
and she totally came through to help me.”

“Well, if you get stuck on Friday nights
during the rest of the football season or when basketball starts in
January, call me. I’ll fill in for you.”

“Aren’t you playing soccer this year?”

“Yes, but the girls’ games are usually on
Thursdays for my school.” Sierra waited for Summertime to finish
his carrot then bridled him. “The guys play on Fridays. I’m
available. Just call if you need me. And you’re more than welcome
here on Saturday nights.”

“What does Rocky say about that?”

“It was her idea.” Sierra winked at me.
“Well, not really, but I let her think it was.”

I gave Summertime one last treat before I
opened his stall door. “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without my
friends, and you two are the best.”

* * * *

Thursday, November 21st, 6:15 a.m.

“I can’t believe the stunts you pull,
Victoria Elizabeth.” Mom glared at me over her cup of coffee.
“Darby told me you had a friend here when you weren’t even
home.”

“And I can’t believe you can drink a cup of
that muck before you go to bed.” I wiped cereal off Chrissy’s face
and then washed her hands. “What did you expect me to do when Rick
‘forgot’ the kids? Am I supposed to quit doing my internship for
you two drama divas?”

“If you do, you’ll flunk.” Kevin carefully
put two empty cereal bowls into the dishwasher. “Mr. Diaz told us
that your school is really hard. And if you flunk three of your
classes, they’ll kick you out.”

“It’s a private school.” Cathy put a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich into each of the lunch bags. “So, they
won’t just pass you if you don’t do the work like our school does.
You gotta pay attention if you wanta go to college.”

“That’s right.” Lance brought over another
bowl for Kevin. “And Mr. Diaz says if you want a good job, you
haveta go to college, Vicky. And if you don’t have a good job, how
can you help us go to Lincoln High or college?”

“Excuse me.” Mom shot a nasty look at my
youngest brother. “Why would
she
need to help you go
there?
I’m your mother. I’m in charge of your
education.”

“But nobody else does what Vicky does,” Linda
explained. “She takes care of us. Even when she gets mad about
everything and she can’t see her friends or play anymore, she still
takes care of us. Of course, she’ll fix it for us to go to the best
high school.”

I glanced at my watch before my mother’s head
exploded. “And now, we’ve got to hustle. Come on, guys. One more
tardy and I’ll have Saturday detention.”

I carried Chrissy to her stroller and tucked
her inside. The four older ones scattered to grab coats and
backpacks. We’d barely made the hall when Darby came out her room
in a fleecy purple bathrobe. I gave her a polite smile. “Sorry if
we were too loud. It can be a bit of an adventure in the morning
getting everyone off to school.”

“Aren’t they in elementary school?” Darby
pointed to Chrissy. “And that one babbles more than she talks.
She’s barely awake. She ought to be in her room sleeping. What’s
she doing with the rest of you?”

“She’s on her way to daycare,” I said. “And
since I’ve got to be at school in a half-hour, they go with me. I
drop them on my way. I had my internship yesterday, and that’s why
my friend took care of them. Hope Gwen didn’t hassle you.”

“No, of course not. She was a very nice girl.
It surprised me to find a stranger here in charge, that’s all.”
Darby moved to one side as the boys rushed to open the door for me.
“So, what’s the plan today?”

“School followed by counseling with the
court-appointed shrink and then we’ll be home. Tomorrow, I have the
barn again and Rick’s supposed to take the kids.” I pushed the
stroller out to the porch. “Catch you later. Come on, guys. I have
a food drive meeting today. Oops, I forgot. Cathy, would you grab
me two cans of beets?”

“Those are gross. I’m not eating them. You
don’t like them, do you?”

“No. I’m donating them to the drive. Hustle,
please!”

“Okay.” She dashed back to the pantry.

“When you get home, Vicky, let’s coordinate
our schedules,” Darby said. “I can jump in sometimes. If I don’t
have the breakfast shift, the little one can stay home with
me.”

“Wonderful.” I bumped the stroller down the
front stairs while Chrissy giggled over each thump.

The kids ran after me. Kevin reached me
first. “It’s my turn to push the stroller.”

“All right. I know you’ll be careful with
her.” He changed places with me. I took the cans of beets from
Cathy and put them in my backpack. “What’s bugging you?”

“Why is Mommy so mad about Gwen taking care
of us yesterday? You had to go to Shamrock Stable. And Mommy wasn’t
even home when you got back.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But those are very
good questions. Why don’t you ask Dr. O’Hara today? She’s a smart
lady. I bet she’ll know the answers.”

Chapter Twelve

Friday,
November 22nd, 3:00 p.m.

I didn’t have cheer practice today because we
had another football game tonight, and Jack wasn’t a happy camper.
His doctor hadn’t released him yet. That meant my boyfriend would
be benched for the next couple of weeks. I felt sorry for him. He’d
goofed up when he tried cleaning a stall a few weeks ago. Robin’s
rescue horse didn’t like guys and poor Jack caught the brunt of it
when she wasn’t around.

He was a bit grumpy on the way to Shamrock
Stable, but neither of us held it against him. I planned to have a
quick session with Aladdin then help out with chores. My phone
buzzed. Robin handed me my purse, and I dug out my cell. “Hi, Rick.
What’s the excuse this time?”

“I don’t make excuses. I’m just really busy
at work with everyone trying to get snow tires.”

“And I’m doing internship hours.” I repeated
the fact for what felt like the umpteenth time this month. “Mom’s
at the casino because she can work extra hours since you’re
supposed to have the kids. Dr. O’Hara told you that you need to
follow through on your commitments yesterday.”

Utter silence and then he said. “Well, I’m
not going to pick them up, and I don’t know what you’re going to do
about it.”

“Handle it because you’re not man enough to
raise babies. You can only make them.” I ended the call and looked
at Robin and Jack. “What?”

“You are such a witch, and I mean that in the
most respectful way,” Robin said.

“Oh, you haven’t seen ‘witch’ yet.” I told
her.

I started by calling the school and leaving a
message for Miguel Diaz, the kindergarten teacher, that my mom’s
new roommate would be picking up the kids. Then, I contacted Darby,
who told me she was already on the way. She’d moved the car seats
from my mom’s rig to hers that morning. I finished by calling
Ingrid O’Hara’s office and leaving a message with the receptionist
that Rick had bailed on his responsibilities once again.

Robin and Jack exchanged glances then eyed me
warily. “What?” I demanded. “If I knuckle under to them, you two
give me heartburn. Now, I’m standing up for me. If I don’t take
care of myself, who will? And if something happens to me, who will
look out for my sibs?”

“Makes sense to me!” Robin told me and her
older brother.

Jack nodded. “She’s not a witch. She’s ‘the
witch,’ and Rick better start calling her, ‘Ms. Witch,’ or she’ll
send Robin and Dr. Larry out on a farm call, and we all know what
veterinarians do in the spring to male critters.”

“Anything else?” I asked, trying not to laugh
at him.

He flashed a quick grin at me. “Well, if the
broom fits, ride it!”

I elbowed him. “You’re so lucky I think
you’re funny.”

“That’s why you adore me.”

“Well, that and the fact you’re amazingly
cute, super smart, and…”

“Please say you’ll stop now before I puke.”
Robin bumped my shoulder. “It’s just icky listening to you fawn all
over my jerk of a big brother.”

“I like fawning.” Jack winked at me. “My ego
needs it after Coach lectured me about Twaziem stomping me
again.”

“I don’t fawn,” I informed the pair of them.
“I tell the truth as I see it.”

Robin groaned and buried her head in her
hands while Jack just kept smiling.

When we reached the barn, we checked in with
Rocky. Robin headed off to commune with Prince Charming. I went
down to groom and saddle up Aladdin. I had a plan. If everything
went well today, I wanted to ride him again. However, my time was
limited. If that didn’t work out, I was good with it. I’d start
slow and keep it that way. Rocky always told us to avoid do-overs
if it was at all possible. I wanted Aladdin to progress, not
regress.

Lots of carrots later, I led him out to the
indoor arena. I attached the longe line, and he began walking
around me on a thirty-foot circle. I turned with him. Walking, then
trotting, halting, backing, and side passaging. Change directions
and repeat the gaits. A half-hour later, I added on the second line
and did double longeing. After that, I moved onto driving. He was
so incredible today, totally focused.

I saw Sierra in her horse’s stall and waved
to her. “I think we’re ready for riding when you are.”

“It’s four-forty,” she said. “Let’s not push
it. You don’t want to teach him that people can go kerplunk.”

“You’re right.” I stopped Aladdin and petted
him. “I’ll ride him on Sunday.”

“We only do two trail rides,” Sierra said.
“There will be plenty of time to ride him more than once. I’ll pony
you from Summertime, and we’ll take Aladdin to the big outdoor
arena for schooling. He needs to learn how to work outside without
freaking. It’ll be good for Summertime since he still thinks trees
eat horses. I wish people would train horses to work everywhere,
not just in the indoor arena.”

“Good plan.” I led Aladdin toward the gate.
“Sometimes, he starts doing so well that I want to do everything at
once. Thanks for reminding me that we want to train him right so
he’ll be able to work here for the rest of his life.”

“That’s my mom’s plan too.”

“And it’s a great one,” I said.

After chores, we were on our way to Jack and
Robin’s house when my phone went off. This time it was my mother.
“Hi. What’s up?” I asked.

“Darby called, and she has the kids at home.
When will you be there to take over?”

“Let’s see.” I paused and then said, “Sunday
evening.”

“Are you joking? I’m not laughing.”

“Neither am I, Mom. I’m headed to Robin’s to
shower and change for the football game. Then, I’m spending the
night there. Tomorrow, I have a rec cheer competition, so I’ll be
at the school by seven in the morning. Saturday night, I stay over
at Robin’s again and go to the barn on Sunday for my internship.
Rick needs to be a dad and keep his promises.”

“And how do you plan to make that
happen?”

“It’s not my problem. Dr. Danvers tells me to
own what is mine to own. You and Rick made those kids. I didn’t.
So, I called Ingrid, and she will be on the phone to him by now. If
I were you, I’d let him have the opportunity to ‘daddy-up.’ If he
doesn’t, the judge will be ripping into him, not just the
counselor.”

* * * *

Sunday, November 24th, 2:00 p.m.

The first trail ride went super. We spent the
first half-hour in the arena teaching our guests how to stop,
start, steer, and balance on their horses. Then, we went out on the
trails for the rest of their time. When we returned to the outdoor
arena, I helped line up the different family groups on their horses
for picture time. The kids were thrilled at the opportunity to lead
their ponies into the barn, and the parents looked nearly as
excited. As soon as they left, Sierra and I raced to check the tip
jar on the corral rail.

“Ten guests,” Sierra said. “Sixty bucks.”

We high-fived each other. That meant thirty
dollars each. I
so
loved this place. And we’d only done one
ride. We still had another one to do.

“Break time,” I said. “After lunch, I’ll tack
up Aladdin.”

“Sounds good.” Sierra led the way to the
office. She pulled sandwiches out of the fridge. “Egg salad or
roast beef.”

“Egg.” I took mine and sat down at the table
in the far corner.

When I finished eating, I grabbed a handful
of carrots and my helmet. I went to the indoor arena, pausing to
grab the saddle and bridle for Aladdin on the way. It didn’t take
long to groom and tack him up. He’d grown accustomed to the work we
did. I heard Rocky finishing her lesson in the ring. Awesome. Now,
I could warm him up inside before I took him out to the big
corral.

I picked up the longe lines on the way by the
tack room. Then, I led Aladdin into the empty arena. I spotted
Rocky in the bleacher area talking to a parent. I went ahead and
started the Arabian on his circles. He really concentrated today.
He knew the routine. Walk and watch me. When I signaled, it was
time to change directions and walk the other way on the right
track.